Origin of cats and their rise

Cats in ancient Egypt adorned in gold.

History of cats started way back to the ancient Egyptians 4000 years ago. The Egyptians domesticated cat to control vermin which was harming crop and causing disease. Cats being very good at catching rats attracted them to stay at the place and not leave it. Because of this the way of living of Egyptians changed and cats became a symbol of life thus becoming sacred creatures.They were associated with Goddess Bastet,who was considered the God of well being, fertility and goddess of cat.
Exporting a cat out of Egypt and killing a cat,both were punishable by death.

Goddess Bastet;The Goddess of cat.

During battle of Pelusium (between Egypt and Persia), Persians made representation of Bastet on their armour because of which the Egyptians could not attack them and lost the battle.Thus, letting out cats of Egypt by Persians. That's how the cat spread across the world.

Mummified Cat.

Death of a cat in a family was evidenced by deep mourning and all the members of family shaving off their eyebrows. They came out of mourning when the eyebrows grew back.

The status of cats were so high that they were even mummified and then buried.
The Pharaohs buried were guarded by cat statues on either side.

Images from Google image.

Superstitions on a cat

There are many superstitions surrounding a cat (black cat,in particular). 

• If a black cat crosses your path, it is considered a bad omen while a cat giving birth to kittens at your house is considered a good one.
• A cat crying facing you house is a sign of ill health or even death of a family member whereas hearing a cat sneeze is supposed to bring you good luck.
• If you see black cat early morning then your whole day is ruined.
• Cats are witches in disguise.
• A cat has nine lives.
• If you kill a cat then you have to donate a cat made of gold or else black luck will be until then.

Many of these may be true or may not be.Many people believe in these superstitions while many don't. What I want to discuss now and later is the concept of a black cat being associated with witches. Black cats were considered the 'familiars' which is a friend of a witch. 

Why was it that a cat only was associated with a witch? -Why not a dog or rabbit or any other animal?

Cats were more often associated with evil than other animals because of their nocturnal and independent nature. cats have been a mystery as well as loved by many and hated by others.They have distinct personalities and a seemingly mysterious way and thus have been mistaken for being evil. Also, because of their ability to remain unseen in dark places/night, they were considered an  ideal  witch partner.